Should I wait before applying ?

[Abdelilah]

Hi everyone,

I landed in Canada back in 2019, come 2020 I filled my taxes for 2019 and did so in since then, here is how my taxes return looks like :

I will be eligible to apply for citizenship next month, should I do so as soon as I'm eligible or should I wait until fill my taxes for 2021 ?

Sorry if my question is redundant, I wasn't able to find an answer to my case.

By the way before applying for child benefits I did declare my income of the previous year when I was still back home.

Thanks,

 

[Abdelilah]

@legalfalcon can I please have your opinion on this ?

Thanks

 

[JPBless]

Eligibility
This form for an application under subsection 5(1) is intended primarily for permanent residents aged 18 and over who want to apply for Canadian citizenship.

To be eligible for Canadian citizenship, you:

• must be 18 years of age or older on the day you sign the application
• must be a permanent resident (landed immigrant) of Canada
• must have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the 5 years immediately before you apply
• may need to file personal income taxes for at least 3 years within the 5-year period

You need to file personal income for at least 3 years, but so far you have filed 2 and need 1 more. I'd say wait and file this year's tax before applying. In any case income tax filing time for this year is around the corner so it will not be a long wait. Plus you accumulate few more cushion days.

 

[Abdelilah]

Eligibility
This form for an application under subsection 5(1) is intended primarily for permanent residents aged 18 and over who want to apply for Canadian citizenship.

To be eligible for Canadian citizenship, you:

• must be 18 years of age or older on the day you sign the application
• must be a permanent resident (landed immigrant) of Canada
• must have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the 5 years immediately before you apply
• may need to file personal income taxes for at least 3 years within the 5-year period

You need to file personal income for at least 3 years, but so far you have filed 2 and need 1 more. I'd say wait and file this year's tax before applying. In any case income tax filing time for this year is around the corner so it will not be a long wait. Plus you accumulate few more cushion days.

Thanks, you're right.

No need to rush things in this covid days, it will be a few weeks give or take.

My thought was that between sending the application, and receiving the AOR, it will be enough time to return the taxes, unless they backdate the applications.

 

[steaky]

Thanks, you're right.

No need to rush things in this covid days, it will be a few weeks give or take.

My thought was that between sending the application, and receiving the AOR, it will be enough time to return the taxes, unless they backdate the applications.

Besides there are backlogs in existing citizenship application processing.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/canadian-citizenship-delays-cause-frustration-1.5730747

 

[JPBless]

Thanks, you're right.

No need to rush things in this covid days, it will be a few weeks give or take.

My thought was that between sending the application, and receiving the AOR, it will be enough time to return the taxes, unless they backdate the applications.

Bear in mind, you must fulfill all eligibility requirements (thus be eligible to apply) ON THE DAY YOU SIGN(ED) THE APPLICATION. You can't send the application in anticipation of future tax eligibility. Remember you have to check off whether or not you filed at least 3 years personal income tax, you can't get around it. Why the rush?

 

[Abdelilah]

Bear in mind, you must fulfill all eligibility requirements (thus be eligible to apply) ON THE DAY YOU SIGN(ED) THE APPLICATION. You can't send the application in anticipation of future tax eligibility. Remember you have to check off whether or not you filed at least 3 years personal income tax, you can't get around it. Why the rush?

Ah Ok, thanks for the clarification, I didn't know about this last bit, meaning that you must have had filled at least 3 before applying, and not after.

This clears up things in my mind for good, I'll just wait until I fill my tax return.

There is no rush, I just know that because of the backlog applications are taking more than normal processing times, that's why I wanted to push mine as soon as I can.

 

[CanWin]

May I share my own experiences?
2019 March : It was my 3 years that I was eligible to apply for citizenship but I thought I would wait until April after I got my 3rd notice of assessment
2019 April : I was too busy, so I didn't have time to apply
2019 October : I thought about to fill the application form but I told my self I should wait until 2020
2020 March : When Covid 19 hit, I told myself it was not a good time to send my application to sit on the desk while all officers stay home without working.
2020 October : My Citizenship application was delivered
2021 December : I become a Canadian Citizen
My application took almost 14 months in process until completed.
But if I made decision to rush apply in March / April2019, until today I must still waiting for test invitation as I saw a lot of 2019 applications people are still waiting in the line of backlog

 

[Abdelilah]

May I share my own experiences?
2019 March : It was my 3 years that I was eligible to apply for citizenship but I thought I would wait until April after I got my 3rd notice of assessment
2019 April : I was too busy, so I didn't have time to apply
2019 October : I thought about to fill the application form but I told my self I should wait until 2020
2020 March : When Covid 19 hit, I told myself it was not a good time to send my application to sit on the desk while all officers stay home without working.
2020 October : My Citizenship application was delivered
2021 December : I become a Canadian Citizen
My application took almost 14 months in process until completed.
But if I made decision to rush apply in March / April2019, until today I must still waiting for test invitation as I saw a lot of 2019 applications people are still waiting in the line of backlog

Did you apply alone ?

 

[CanWin]

Did you apply alone ?

Yes

 

[Abdelilah]

Yes

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I plan to apply as a family, so it may take more time for me, hopefully the back log will clear by then.

 

[legalfalcon]

@legalfalcon can I please have your opinion on this ?

Thanks

The most important factor in citizenship applications is meeting the residency obligation and then other eligibility criteria.

For taxes, you may need to file taxes in Canada for at least 3 years during the 5 years right before the date you apply.

If you have met the above, you can apply.

 

[Abdelilah]

The most important factor in citizenship applications is meeting the residency obligation and then other eligibility criteria.

For taxes, you may need to file taxes in Canada for at least 3 years during the 5 years right before the date you apply.

If you have met the above, you can apply.

Thank you very much for your insight.

I now understand clearly the requirement, I'll wait after filling the 3rd tax return before applying.